Evolve or remain.

"Promise me one thing," he said. "If you write about me, don't write anything bad. You can write about the good stuff though." "I can't make that promise," I told him. "I write about my life. All of it." And from the sound of that silence, I could've sworn I'd gone deaf the minute those last couple words fell from my tongue. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Interesting way to start the post, I know- but I wanted to start with the most significant part of this story and then explain why those few words taught me so much. Last summer, I started going out with a boy who seemed almost a little too  like me. If you know me very well at all, you know how unlikely that is. You know that one of us is probably going to win the lottery before I find someone who's just enough like me but different enough at the same time. A year ago, even I didn't know that. A year ago, when I met th...

For most people, a safe space means somewhere with walls and doors and a bed to sleep in. For me, a safe space is anywhere I can manage to be alone with some paper and a pencil. Or, in this case, a laptop with internet access so I can share my world with you. And generally, this safe space of mine is where I come to tell you stories. I love telling you about the things that happen to me throughout my life and I love the processing of becoming more "me" by sharing those things with you and listening to your responses. I love that as I've grown up, you've been here- reading and following along, coaching me through the most difficult days and helping me celebrate some of the best.  It's been seven years. I've been blogging since the first week of my freshman year of high school, and I'd be lying if I said I don't feel old just thinking about how much I've shared with you since.  I've told you about my first dates, the first time I ever...